Update: August 16, 2021

—FOR INTERNAL COMMUNICATION ONLY—

Thought of the Day: “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talent which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.”—Horace

State Stats (increases/decreases since Aug. 13)

614,776 COVID-19 cases (up 7,548)
11,516 COVID-19 patient deaths (up 57)
2,907 COVID-19 patients hospitalized (up 6)
399 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (up 13)
Unvaccinated COVID-19 patients account for:
- 90% of cases
- 83% of patient deaths
- 91% of hospitalizations.

NOHS Stats (increases/decreases since Aug. 13)

NOMC:
- 104 COVID-19 patients hospitalized (up 23)
- 18 COVID-19 patients on ventilators (up 3)
- 8 COVID-19 patient deaths
NORH: 20 patients (0 COVID+); 1-2 possible admissions
Hood: 10 hospitalized (0 COVID+); 0 ER boarders; 2 employees out monitoring
Tested 33,845 with 11 tests pending (up 385)
5,371 positive test results for inpatients/outpatients combined (up 129)
1,419 COVID-19 patients recovered (up 15)

Staffing & Volume

MICU 2 has 6 patients.
ER has 9 boarders, 6 of whom are COVID+.
We are on diversion for everything but trauma and stroke.
Staffing remains extremely tight with all supplemental staffing contingency plans remaining active.
ER Infusion for COVID+ patients on Medicine Unit I continues with 68 infusions performed over the weekend.
Non-emergent elective surgeries are suspended this week. Today’s Surgical Services schedule is as follows:
- 11 at NOMC
- 25 at Surgery Center
- 1 in Cath Lab
- 4 Endoscopies.
Visitation guidelines effective since July 22 remain in force. Reminder: Labor & Delivery patients are allowed to have one support person in addition to their significant other.
Drive-Thru COVID Testing by appointment remains open with 83 individuals served Aug. 13 and 14 appointments scheduled today with the expectation that this number will swell.
Employee Wellness returned 12 employees back to work on Aug. 13, leaving 47 out monitoring symptoms at home (10 RNs; 0 respiratory therapists).
Clinics are business as usual.
Supply levels are good. We have more than enough PPE.

Vaccinations

Employee vaccination rate = 65.5%
To receive a COVID vaccine at work, notify your supervisor, manager or leader. He or she will notify Drs. Robert Peltier and Jherie Ducombs, who have assembled a team who are traveling to employees on the floor to administer vaccines. Vaccinations also are available at our Hammond, Ponchatoula and Walker Urgent Care Clinics from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Sunday. Self-schedule an appointment at https://covidvaccine.northoaks.org or by calling (985) 230-SHOT [7468]. Over the weekend, these clinics gave a total of 140 first doses and 144 second doses.
If you have vaccine questions, reach out to Dr. Robert Peltier at ext. 7755 or peltierr@northoaks.org for evidence-based answers to assist you in making an informed choice. The public can send him questions at info@northoaks.org.
A third dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine is now recommended to immunocompromised individuals to fully complete the COVID vaccination series so that they can get the level of protection that non-immunocompromised individuals achieve with two doses. A self-attestation form (attached) must be completed to receive the third dose and will be made available on our scheduling portal and website. It’s also available on the LDH website at ldh.la.gov. Physician authorization is not required. Immunocompromised is defined as: active cancer treatment, organ transplantation, stem cell transplant within the past 2 years, moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency, advanced or untreated HIV, high-dose corticosteroids (defined as equivalent of 20 mg of prednisone/day), or other conditions which would cause moderate-to-severe immunosuppression. Immunocompromised individuals are advised to schedule their third vaccine dose per standard process. If you are not sure that you should receive a third dose, speak with your provider.

Infection Prevention Top 5

Pay attention to hand hygiene.
- NO double masking.
- Discard N95 mask after a single use.
- Discard ear loop mask when soiled or when suspected contamination has occurred. Don a new mask as soon as possible.
- NEVER put mask or other used PPE items down on work surfaces or on top of equipment.
For further assistance, please contact Infection Prevention Manager Amanda Morse at ext. 6414 or Nurse Ashley Foster at ext. 6440.

Support & Encouragement for You!

All staff will be treated to a complimentary boxed breakfast from the Cafeteria on Tuesday, Aug. 17, and Thursday, Aug. 19. Staff on the night shift Aug. 17 and 19 will be treated to cookies. In addition, a team led by Chief Human Resources Officer Jeff Jarreau, Security Director Johnny Poumaroux and COO Michael Watkins will grill hamburgers for the night shift on Thursday, Aug. 19 at 10 p.m. Leaders or their designees will pick up and deliver the meals/cookies to their respective departments on each date.
Downtown Yoga will provide complimentary gentle yoga, mindful breathing and relaxation classes at the E. Brent Dufreche Conference Center Tuesday, Aug. 17, and Tuesday, Aug. 24, at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. If you would like to participate, email Jeff Jarreau to register as space per session is limited to 75 employees.

Public Relations/Communications

Get Dr. Robert Peltier’s bi-weekly COVID-19 Updates on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:10 a.m. on Tangi 96.5 FM.
Last week, Marketing initiated a “Motivate. Educate. Vaccinate.” social media campaign featuring our providers sharing their reasons why the public should consider vaccination. Pulmonologist Justin Fowlkes, M.D., kicked off the video series last week with more providers to follow. Please like and share these short videos from the frontlines of the pandemic to help us encourage the public to consider vaccination as the best defense against severe illness.
We continue to partner with other Northshore hospitals to collectively share information with the public concerning COVID-19 cases in our region via social media. Starting this week, we will begin sharing the percentage of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients hospitalized and their median age. The goal is to provide updates on Mondays and Thursdays.

COVID-19 will not win. Together, we’ve got this!